PAS spewing ‘fake news’, says Kit Siang

PETALING JAYA: PAS Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s allegations were just one of several pieces of “fake news” that had been perpetrated since PAS and Umno signed their unity charter last weekend, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang (pix) said today.

Lim was referring to Tuan Ibrahim’s warning DAP against pursuing an alleged ‘Christianisation’ agenda while citing a speech by Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim at a forum held at the Mega Chinese Methodist Church in Kota Damansara on Saturday.

“Since the PAS-Umno unity gathering and its charter, there has been an upsurge of vile and divisive fake news and hate speech on the social media exploiting the 3Rs (Race, Religion, Royalty) to depict a false picture of DAP as anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-royalty,” Lim said in a statement.

Lim said other examples of recent fake news included Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri’s claim that the halal certification process had been transferred to the Finance Ministry.

And another was PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that DAP wanted to give control of Sarawak and its wealth to the Chinese, Lim added.

Meanwhile, in a related matter, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has defended his deputy, Steven Sim, from PAS’ claim that the DAP politician has a “Christianisation” agenda.

In a tweet, Syed Saddiq said Sim believed in multi-racialism and moderation, and he showed this in his work at the ministry.

“He means well and is like a brother to me. I never once felt that he wanted to ‘Christianise’ me or KBS (the Youth and Sports Ministry).

“Stop the politics of hate and let’s build more bridges together as a united Malaysia.”

Sim was accused by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim yesterday for his speech at a forum held in a church last Saturday.

In a statement, Sim said the church in Kota Damansara had invited him to speak at a forum titled ‘Anak Malaysia? Our story of past, present and future Malaysia’.

“The forum was organised in the church as it was meant for Christians to discuss their responsibilities as citizens of Malaysia,” said Sim, who is also Bukit Mertajam MP.

Urging Tuan Ibrahim to respect the freedom of religion, Sim said he had only talked about good values taught in the Bible as a guide for Christians to be good Malaysians and had never touched on or criticised other religions.

Last night, the Council of Churches Malaysia took Tuan Ibrahim to task for his claims, saying he should not imply that a forum held in a church meant that churches were part of the government’s propaganda.